


A Cupboard

by missdibley



Series: The Red Nose Diaries [103]
Category: British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: 38 lifetimes, 38 lifetimes fic, AU Tom Hiddleston - Freeform, Dinner Party, F/M, Kissing game, Seven Minutes In Heaven, Tom Hiddleston AU, red nose diaries, red nose diaries tom - Freeform, red nose diaries tom hiddleston, rnd!tom - Freeform, the red nose diaries
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 02:22:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17417210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missdibley/pseuds/missdibley
Summary: In this AU, Carmen decides it's not even worth bothering trying to catch Tom's eye at a dinner party overrun with single, attractive girls all vying for his attention.





	A Cupboard

Carmen didn’t like her seat. But there was precious little that she could do about it.

It’s not as though there were assigned seats at her friend Rebecca’s dinner party. But she had arrived late, missing out on the passive-aggressive jockeying for seats that happened among her fellow dinner guests.

Choosing the correct seat was critical.

You wanted to be close to the good stuff but not so close you spend the entire meal passing dishes around. Ease of access to the toilet was key, but beware of being stuck on the end and missing out on all the good  gossip.

And there was the question of proximity to Tom.

Carmen, being new to London but not new to living in a big city, had seen her share of celebrities. In Chicago, it was always a Bull or a Blackhawk, a Cub or a White Sock or sometimes even a Bear. Supporting actors from “Chicago Fire” and “Empire”. In her new city, actors who she recognized from “Doctor Who” and countless Jane Austen adaptations from public television.

And Tom Hiddleston. He was Loki. He was Hamlet and Henry. He was Rebecca’s friend who just happened to be a super famous actor and, of course, Carmen’s total crush. Also he appeared to be single.

Rebecca was married, so most of the party was married couples. Tom was one of the exceptions, as was Carmen, and three women who, like Rebecca, were posh and tall and slim and had beautiful skin. They looked so great flirting in turn with Tom that Carmen wondered, not for the first time, exactly why she rated an invite to Rebecca’s in the first place.

“Because you’re funny and charming, and new to the city.” Rebecca shoved a basket of cheese straws at Carmen when she tried to seek refuge in the kitchen. “Now go make my friends your friends, please.”

So she did. Carmen made her jokes and told funny stories about Chicago because, while the sophisticates at Rebecca’s table were all well-traveled and had visited New York and Los Angeles many times, Chicago was something of a mystery. Which put Carmen in a position to be mildly offended by their misconceptions and honored to defend her beloved hometown. She tried not to be too obvious about checking to see if she had Tom’s attention. This was difficult, as he was all the way at the far end, a sweet smile on his face as it turned to a pretty blonde with huge breasts and a narrow waist. Carmen consoled herself with the friendly, welcoming attention of many instead of the romantic overtures of the one.

“Carmen, dear?” Rebecca called from a few seats down. “We’ve run out of vino. Could you…?”

“Of course.” Carmen got up, praying that an avalanche of baguette crumbs didn’t descend down the front of her sweater. “Kitchen?”

Rebecca shook her head. “Try the cupboard.”

The cupboard was more of a spare bedroom, with a daybed on the left that sat opposite a wall of shelving. Dry goods and household supplies, but no wine. Not that she could find. Carmen was about to return empty-handed when she turned around to find Tom in the doorway.

“Was I really taking so long?” Carmen tried to sound casual, but it was one thing to be at a dinner party with one’s crush. It was another to be alone in a small room with him.

“I thought you might need some help carrying bottles back,” replied Tom.

“How many bottles did Rebecca need?” Carmen looked at the shelves again. When she felt Tom at her side, she shivered.

“Dunno.” Tom held his hands out for Carmen to inspect. “How much do you think I can grab?”

Carmen was proud of herself for not fainting at the sight of his large hands. “Um…” She blinked up at him. “A lot?”

Before Tom could say something to the effect of “Please stop drooling over me, you American weirdo, I’ve got other ladies to flirt with,” there was the heavy thud of the door shutting behind them.

And then the lights went out.

“That’s different,” Carmen said. “I don’t suppose you saw any wine before it got dark?”

“No,” Tom said. “I’ll go see if I can…”

Carmen listened to his footsteps as Tom carefully worked his back to the door. She heard him flip the lightswitch to no avail. He tried the knob, but it did not move.

“Hello!” Rebecca’s voice was cheerful as it came through the door.

“Bec?” Tom rapped on the door. “Are you alright out there?”

“Oh, we’re fine,” Rebecca exclaimed. “I think the security system got set to test mode. Lights are on out here but the doors won’t unlock until the system resets.”

“Even this interior door?” Carmen wondered.

“Escape room,” Rebecca said. “We don’t use it for that purpose but…”

“How long until the system resets?” Tom asked.

“Ninety minutes —- sorry,” said Rebecca. “Are you okay?”

Carmen and Tom replied in the affirmative.

“Just hang tight, loves.” Rebecca said sweetly. “Make yourselves comfortable. I’ll dial up the security company again, see if they can’t move things along.”

Carmen was in the middle of taking a breath when she heard Tom walking to her. When she felt him take her hand, she froze.

“I hope this doesn’t sound too forward, but may I escort you to the daybed?” Tom said, cheerfully.

“I hope this doesn’t sound too forward, but yes, please, and thank you.”

Tom sidled along until his leg bumped into the bedframe. Patting around for the mattress, he eased himself down until he sat at the foot of the bed. He didn’t let go of Carmen’s hand even after she had settled down next to him.

“So what are we supposed to do for the next ninety minutes?” Carmen asked.

“Did you have any ideas?” Tom said in a hush.

“We could talk,” Carmen suggested.

Tom chuckled. “I think I’m all talked out.”

“Oh?” Carmen smirked. “Am I not good enough to talk to?”

“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“Oh, fine.” Carmen sighed. She started a bit when she felt the mattress dip, the weight of Tom’s free hand supporting him as he leaned in. When she felt his breath, soft and wine sweet on her cheek, she gasped.

“I thought maybe we could snog,” Tom murmured.

“But we’ve only just met,” Carmen said, not bothering to suppress the moan in her voice.

“That’s why I suggested snogging, and not a shag.” Tom inhaled and, upon exhaling, began to suck upon her neck.

“What makes me so snoggable?” Carmen asked, turning her face to him. “What about blondie at the table?”

“She’s boring,” Tom whispered. “Are you jealous?”

“Don’t flatter your…. oh!” She jumped when she felt Tom’s hand flip under her sweater, just at the waist, and come to rest on her bare stomach. “Not jealous but definitely… intrigued.”

“Feeling’s mutual,” Tom muttered. “Very, very…” He pushed forward in the dark, sensing Carmen as she laid back before he began to move up.

Carmen barely had time to get herself settled before there was the pleasant weight of Tom on her, his hips encircled by her warm and full thighs. His dark navy jumper which, being just this side of threadbare, was incredibly soft to touch. Tom was impatient, pushing between her pursed lips with the tip of his tongue for barely a second before she took advantage of her gasp and licked inside her mouth. His tongue was warm and wet and heavy and it felt so good to her. She sucked on it, gently at first while her fingers made tender, tentative explorations.

Of his jaw and his scratchy beard. The unruly curls on his head. She removed his glasses, not remembering what she did with them because her hands had to be on the nape of his neck (“That feels good,” Tom slurred) then massaging his shoulders (“Oh my god.”) before sliding down his back (“Oh yes”) only arrive at his ass, which she grabbed so she could pull him into her  _ (“Fuck fuck fuck”). _

And then she moved with Tom, her hips rocking in time with the rhythm of her lips and her tongue as she savored him. Maybe she should have been panicking or wondering why she was so quick to make out with Tom, a near stranger, at her friend Rebecca’s rather posh dinner party.

She did wonder about it. Later, though. After the security system was reset, and she and Tom were liberated. After they stumbled into the hallway  to confront the party guests with their clothes askew, and Tom’s hair looking ridiculous after having had Carmen’s hands running through it. After Carmen made up a story about feeling poorly, and Tom insisting he should escort her home. After they got into the lift and snogged all way down to the ground floor and then right into a taxi all the way to Tom’s house. After Tom dragged Carmen into his bed and they used the three condoms that he kept in his nightstand. After they showered then used a few more condoms from the medicine chest in his bathroom. It came to her as they were drifting off to sleep, having showered again and lying naked in his bed. Damp hair cold and clammy on hot skin.

“It’s a party game, like spin the bottle,” she yawned. “Seven minutes in heaven.”

“I always did like that game, though I think we improved on it considerably,” Tom said earnestly.

“Ninety minutes in Highgate,” Carmen said, referring to Rebecca’s neighborhood.

“With one hundred and eighty minutes in Hampstead,” Tom said, triumphantly.

Carmen snorted. “Aren’t we smug?”


End file.
